Industry roundup

Alstom , Paris, invested $200 million in its Power Systems Sector, a new manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tenn. The new facility will manufacture steam turbines, gas turbines, generators, and related equipment for use in U.S. power generation facilities. The facility also will manufacture new steam turbines for fossil and nuclear applications, as well as retrofitting existing steam turbines with current technology. UniStar Nuclear Energy selected Alstom to provide at least four steam turbine generators for UNE’s planned fleet of nuclear power plants in the United States. The investment in the Chattanooga manufacturing facility will result in the creation of more than 350 new jobs.

Reliable Controls, Victoria, British Columbia, announced that the MACH-Stat BACnet controller received the 2008 AHR Expo Innovation Award Honorable Mention in the Building Automation category. For receiving the award, Reliable Controls received a certificate and a placard, which they displayed at the 2008 AHR Expo, New York City.

The EMCOR Group Inc ., Norwalk, Conn., subsidiary, University Mechanical & Engineer Contractors (UMEC) , Tempe, Ariz., received a contract to provide mechanical construction services for a new 24 million gallon/day water treatment plant in Gilbert, Ariz. UMEC will construct and install process equipment and piping installation for the raw water control, ballasted flocculation basins, blower room, and reservoir/pre-chlorination well. The plant will have a expansion capacity of 48 million gallons/day

Emerson Climate Technologies , St. Louis, announced several appointments within its White-Rodgers division. Steve Carey became the director of product management, where he will lead a team focused on creating a comprehensive product line. Geoff Godwin became the vice president of marketing, where Godwin and his team will be responsible for identifying and prioritizing business opportunities. Ron Miles became vice president of aftermarket sales, where he is responsible for directing the efforts of the division’s contractor and wholesaler sales forces. Bill Shockley became vice president of OEM sales, where he is responsible for overseeing relationships with HVAC and appliance OEM customers. Jay Wirts became the director of residential marketing, where he is responsible for understanding market dynamics and their implications to the business. Emerson announced the appointment of Alan Abramson, PE , to the position of president, Clive Samuels & Assocs.

ABB , New Berlin, Wis., received the Voluntary Protection Program Star Award from three representatives from OSHA . The award is given to only 2000 out of 7 million companies worldwide. Richard Bizek , North American safety manager for ABB Automation Products Division, awarded Rick Kegel , safety and plant engineer for the New Berlin facility, with a Quality Salute Award for his efforts towards the achievement of Star status.

Schreder Lighting USA , Chicago, announced the appointment of Jeff Sanders to inside sales manager. Sanders will oversee the inside sales team and work with Schreder’s independent sales agencies, and the specification lighting community, including lighting designers, architects, and engineers. Sanders has more than 20 years of experience. He will also work with key lighting professional to fulfill their commercial outdoor lighting needs, specifically public and urban lighting, and tunnel and transit lighting. Schreder Lighting USA announced that DMA Sales Agency will represent the complete line throughout northern New Jersey. DMA will work with the specification community, including lighting designers, architects, and engineers. The agency will also fulfill specifiers’ commercial outdoor lighting needs, specifically in the area of public and urban lighting, and tunnel and transit lighting.

Q-TRAN , Bridgeport, Conn., announced the appointment of Shannon Markey, LEED AP, to western regional sales manager. In his new role, Markey will work closely with lighting showrooms and electrical distributors, lighting designers, engineers, and architects throughout the western United States. He will also be responsible for the development and supervision of a representative-based sales force designed to serve customers in the west.

NorthEast Electrical Distributors/Eagle Electric Supply, Canton, Mass., announced that Legion Field, Bridgewater, Mass, is the winner of the 2007 New Friday Night Lights community sweepstakes. The winner will receive a new Cooper Lighting outdoor lighting systems and an installation valued at $60,000. WEEI-AM in Boston co-sponsored the contest, which received entries from 30 cities and towns around the New England area from August through September and involved more than 300,000 online voters.

Daikin AC Inc ., Carrollton, Texas, announced the promotion of Russell Tavolacci to vice president of marketing, sales, and service. In the new position, Tavolacci will lead a team of marketing and sales professionals in the management of distributing residential and commercial HVAC systems for the United States and Canada. Tavolacci is a ASHRAE member and he has more than 24 years of experience in the HVAC/R industry, specializing in the unitary, commercial, and industrial markets.

Amerlux Lighting Solutions , Fairfield, N.J., appointed Ted des Enfants to vice president of international sales. In the new position, des Enfants will work closely with lighting designers, architects, and national accounts to specify Amerlux products.

Leviton Manufacturing Co ., Little Neck, N.Y., received the Patent Board’s No. 1 ranking for the second consecutive year. The Patent Board tracks and analyses innovation, movement, and the business value of patent assets across a wide variety of industries. Leviton was ranked No. 1 in the area of industrial components and fixtures, where measurements of a company’s technology strength, industry impact, patents granted, science strength, research intensity, and innovation cycle time are considered.

The Solar Rating and Certification Corp . (SRCC) certified SolarHot’s , Cary, N.C., Solvelox Glycol OG-300 system . The system received the second highest performance award for any certified glycol system in its class. The certification gives SolarHot the only integrated pumping package available in both drainback and glycol models.

Pentadyne Power Corp ., Chatsworth, Calif., announced the appointment of Mark Campion to executive vice president and CFO. Campion has more than 29 years of experience, including a corporate accounting and finance background and CPA qualifications, specifically debt and equity financing such as IPOs, venture capital, bank financing, and structured debt instruments.

Wrightsoft , Lexington, Mass., welcomed Jonathan Jacobs to its technical support and training department. Jacobs’ knowledge includes working knowledge of HVAC design, estimation, and sales. He has eight years of experience using Right Suite products to produce energy calculations for building departments, pricing for builders, and duct layouts for installers.

Newforma , Manchester, N.H., announced that ColeJenest & Stone , Charlotte, N.C., deployed Newforma Project Center software firm-wide. The company estimates a one-month return on investment based on a pilot implementation. Seventy-five out of 80 people in the company’s three offices will use the solution. The software files emails in projects folders, transfers large files, and finds information in common industry file types, including e-mails and drawings.

Training class to help service contractors, building engineers, and maintenance personnel operate and maintain McQuay chillers, rooftop units, self-contained systems, and MicroTech II controls will be held throughout 2008. The course will include classroom instruction and hands-on trouble analysis. The training courses will be held at McQuay facilities in Staunton, Virginia, and Plymouth, Va.

TAC , Dallas, appointed Jay Nardone to vice president of system integration central. Nardone will be responsible for growth, strategy, and development of TAC’s systems integration group for the central United States. Nardone joined TAC in 1998. TAC also appointed Jana Gerber to director of marketing and business development. Gerber will be responsible for developing and executing marketing programs to promote and support the company’s business units.

Flomerics , Marlborough, Mass., celebrated its 20thanniversary as an independent company this year. Flomerics has a worldwide customer base of more than 2,500 sites and 7,000 individuals. David Tatchell and Harvey Rosten , the founders of Flomerics, started the company in 1988 to develop computational fluid dynamics software that simulated thermal exchange at the pre-prototyping phase of product development.

WaterFurnace International Inc. , Fort Wayne, Ind., announced the promotion of Carl Huber and Bob Brown . Huber is now the vice president of the WaterFurnace corporate quality program in which he will work with the company’s operational teams regarding the company’s global quality, warranty, process development, and supplier development. Huber has 20 years of experience with WaterFurnace. Brown is now the vice president of engineering and research in which he will be responsible for all aspects of product engineering and accessory engineering and design. He will also be responsible for product development, including labs and all engineering design teams. Brown has more than 26 years experience.